I know I said I wouldn't do another chapter for this story until I had the next DotH chapter out, but I needed a quick breather from physics. XD Sorry guys!
Note: This story takes place after Season 3.
Disclaimer: I don't claim to own Monster Rancher or the characters. I'm just a huge fan. Tecmo owns everything. I just own the plot.
Moments We Share
J: Jewels
"Would you rather have spinach, broccoli, or carro-"
"Broccoli!"
"…but you didn't let me finish. I thought I'd pick up some carrots since you seem to like them so much and-"
"No, no! Really! I'm really in the mood for broccoli."
"Um… okay…"
Genki sighed with relief as his girlfriend put the orange roots down and grabbed a few large pieces of broccoli instead, though not before raising her eyebrow and giving him a skeptical look. He had to admit, lying about his hate for carrots all those years ago was one of the biggest things that continued to come back to bite him in the ass even after all the time that had passed by. After dating for so many years, he couldn't help but congratulate himself for hiding his distaste for the odd vegetable from Holly for such a long time. For the past few months, though, part of him had the feeling she was beginning to catch on to the charade. For now, however, the young couple put the carrot issue behind them as they strode through the Toriyama market place for groceries all the while browsing other market stalls that had been set up.
"Wow, look at that sword! It reminds me of Durahan." Holly spoke with a smile as her gaze shifted to that of a giant shimmering sword that was leaning up sturdily against one of the buying tables.
"Now that you mention it, it does remind me of Durahan!" Genki replied with a wryly smile. "Makes me wonder what he's been up to."
"Yes, I haven't seen him in almost a year. He did promise he'd swing by for Toriyama's fighting competition that's in a month, though. If he does come, that means he'll be up against Tiger and Hare." The young woman noted as she shifted slightly closer to her boyfriend as the crowd of people pushed and shoved to view all the buying stands as if their very lives depended on it.
"True. I can't wait to see that." Genki said while he glared at a man who had bumped into Holly without even glancing at her. "Sheesh, it's getting busy here. Want to head up to the western shops? I'm sure it's not as busy as these eastern shops."
"That sounds like a good idea. All these people crowded around like this are making me uncomfortable." Holly admitted as she linked hands with Genki to ensure they wouldn't get separated. With a nod of agreement, the couple gripped each other's hands tightly as they weaved and dodged through the mass of people in an attempt to escape the oncoming chaos. Much to their relief, Genki's intuition was correct and the western shops were far less populated at the moment.
"We're lucky we got most of what we needed before the mob came. So, what else do we need for food?" Genki asked as he held up one of the bags of groceries to make sure nothing had been damaged from the crowd. After a moment of silence, Genki felt his curiosity peak as he glanced down at Holly, whom seemed to be deeply focused on something. With a slight pang of worry at her sudden nonresponsive nature, the young man slowly extended his hand in front of Holly's face before waving it around in hopes of getting her attention. "Uh, Holly? You okay?"
After a moment, Holly seemed to jump out of her trance before she turned to Genki with a blush of embarrassment on her face as she let out a nervous chuckle. "Oh! I'm okay, really! I was just spacing out, is all."
"You sure? What were you thinking about?" The young man asked curiously.
"Actually, I was looking at that stand over there." Holly said as she pointed her slender hand over at a stand that was vacant from any shoppers. The stand itself seemed to glimmer and shine, making it stand out from all the other tables. With a glance to one another, the duo strode over to the stand to get a better look at what the shimmering was coming from. When they got close enough, Genki could hear Holly let out a small gasp at the sight before them.
Jewels.
Hundreds upon hundreds of jewels were spread across the surface of the table and the rays of the sun caused them to almost glow. From small red rubies to large blue sapphires, the stand was littered with precious treasures that would make even Captain Horn's treasure look like petty trinkets. As Genki just stood holding the grocery bags, Holly slowly began to scan the table with awe and admiration.
"These are amazing!" Holly exclaimed with a grin.
"You think so, huh? All of these came from a pirate's treasure! Professor Garnish is selling most of the small jewels he's found, so that's why they're here." A purebred Ape spoke with a smile as he stood behind the table.
"Professor Garnish? Wait, isn't he the Kato hybrid we met and used his submarine to get back the Mystery Disk?" Genki asked Holly with a puzzled look.
"Yes. It looks like fortune finally fell his way." Holly spoke with a soft giggle before she began to rummage through the mass of jewels like a curious child on Christmas day. "There are so many of them!"
"I never knew you were into jewels and stuff like that." Genki spoke up with surprise.
"That's because we never have time or money to look at this kind of stuff. When we were on our journey I was too preoccupied to even think of fancy things." The young woman replied with a shrug of her shoulders.
"What is it with girls and jewels?" Genki asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We just like them. What is it with guys and bacon?" Holly retorted with a playful smile.
"Well, bacon tastes awesome. Jewels don't really do anything." The young man replied. "And you like bacon, too, so that doesn't count!"
"Some guys like jewels, too!"
"Pffft! Hahaha! Like which ones?"
"Hare does!"
"That's only because he likes them for the value of selling them!"
"Well, I'm sure there are plenty of guys who can appreciate the wonder of jewels."
"Yeah, right."
"Watch; I know you'll like them, too, if you just look at them!" Holly exclaimed as she grabbed a handful of the precious minerals before cupping them gently in her hands, all while managing to keep full eye contact with Genki. With a determined look, the brunette woman brought the jewels close to her body to ensue she wouldn't drop any of them before looking at the materials in her hands. "See? Aren't they pretty?"
Genki, however, wasn't looking at the jewels in Holly's hands. His eyes were too focused on Holly's face as she continued to examine the natural minerals in her hands. The sparkle from the jewels reflected in her warm brown eyes; making them look even more innocent than usual. Her hair had several small highlights from the jewels' reflection and her cheeks were flushed slightly red from the excitement of seeing such wondrous treasures. The sun's rays acted like a beacon as it hit the jewels' surfaces; causing a mass of colors to glitter and dance across the young woman's body like stained glass. Her face seemed so fragile, yet elegant under the piercing shine that she almost looked holy; the whole scene causing Genki's heart to skip a beat and for his stomach to become plagued with butterflies. He was snapped out of his trance, however, when Holly's gentle voice shattered the silence between them.
"So, what do you think?"
"…beautiful…" Genki trailed off quietly while still staring intently at Holly's face; the words he felt and wanted to speak were long out of his reach so that one word was all he could muster.
"But… you haven't even looked at them yet." Holly replied with puzzlement as her eyebrow rose; the whole time his gaze had never gone down to see the jewels. With a blush, Genki averted his gaze quickly before fidgeting nervously and laughing it off.
"I'm, uh, just not in the mood to look at that kind of stuff today, okay? Let's go look at the baker's stand!" The young man spoke with a wryly smile as he waved it off in an attemp to change the focus point of their conversation.
"Um, okay…" Holly replied with a skeptical look before she put the jewels back and looked over at her boyfriend once more. His response to looking at the jewels had thrown her off since she had expected him to not want to look, but it didn't explain why he had said they were beautiful. 'That was kind of weird, even for Genki… If he wanted to lie all he had to do was take a quick glance at the jewels and say that; it was weird that he didn't even bother to look down. He seemed so genuine when he said that, though… I don't get it. The whole time all he was doing was…'
Holly's eyes widened as she watched Genki looking around anxiously while waiting for Holly to join him so they could go look at the bread selection. He still held tightly onto the shopping bags while pretending to be interested at the clouds in the sky, but Holly would catch him glancing at her with a look at wasn't one of annoyance, but that of adoration. With a smile of realization, Holly felt her mind finish her train on thought as she quickly made her way to Genki's side. '…all he was doing was looking at me. He wasn't referring to the jewels when he said that. He really meant… me.'
"So, what kind of bread do you want?" Genki asked his girlfriend with a smile.
"Actually, I was hoping you'd pick it out tonight." Holly replied before she hooked arms with the young man and intertwined their fingers. "…oh, and Genki?"
"Yeah?"
"…you're so sweet."
Genki blinked in confusion at the young woman who was snuggled up close to his side, but he didn't question it as they made a turn to head back to the eastern shops, but not before both young adults turned to glance back at the jewel selling stand; both of them harboring different memories that stemmed from the same moment.
Randomness! XD And yes; bacon is amazing. :D If you can't remember, Professor Garnish is the Kato/Gali hybrid that has a submarine in the third season. I love that episode. :D They spell it Garnish, but in the games it's actually "Gordish". Just some trivia, I guess. XD
RockyRoadSmith: Signing off! :3